Pippins Offense Struggles Again as Bells Sweep Series

The Pippins offense struggled for the third straight night and a late offensive outburst by the Bells sent the Pippins to their third straight loss in a sweep by the Bells.

Hunter French got the start for the Pippins and looked strong early on, posting zeros through the first two innings.

The Bells would get on the board first in the third inning. Guthrie Morrison lead off the inning with a single. Two batters later, Jack Machtolf hit a bloop base hit to right that Sam Mitchell couldn't catch with a slide. Mitchell quickly recovered the ball and threw in to second base as Morrison had to wait to make sure it dropped before going to second. The throw got beyond Tyler Hollow and all the way behind the first baseman Andrew Schleusner. A throw back to second to try and get Machtolf was thrown into left field, allowing Morrison to score all the way from first. French would escape the inning without allowing another run.

The Pippins would get the run back in the fourth inning against Bells starter Ben Leeper. Nick DiCarlo lead off the inning with a double. After a strikeout, Cole Pofek delivered with an RBI single to tie the game at two. This would be all that the Pippins offense would be able to muster with just two hits the rest of the way.

Bellingham took back the lead for good in the fifth on an RBI single from Zach Needham. In the sixth, the Bells would add on. Dusty Stroup lead off the inning with a double and was moved to third. Landen Kimbro followed with a base hit to extend the lead to 3-1. French was chased and the Pippins brought in Cole Fossat for his first pitching appearance of the season. With two outs and runners at the corners, Fossat got what could have been the third out of the inning on a strikeout but the ball got away, allowing Kimbro to score from third base.

The Bells continued to play add on in the seventh with an RBI single from Kimbro to extend the lead to 5-1.

In the ninth, the Bells would put the game out of reach with three more runs, helped by a Pippins error to prolong the inning. Theron Kay shut the door for the Bells in the ninth, retiring the Pippins in order and securing a series sweep for Bellingham.

The Pippins will head out on the road on Monday to take on the Wenatchee AppleSox in a three game series. First pitch at 7:05.